GoPro Founder Captures Stunning Whale Video Using His Karma

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GoPro Founder and CEO makes the most of being in the right place, at the right time, with the right equipment: Karma.

Whether it’s time spent with family, adventures to new places, or appreciation of the world around us, there are moments that we wish we could experience again and again. Nicholas Woodman founded GoPro on this premise, and for years now people all over the world have immersively captured important and memorable moments with their GoPros. To this day, Woodman is one of GoPro's best customers, capturing all of the things he wants to relive. Recently, on a fishing trip, he found himself in a very unique position to witness something most in the world never will..and thankfully, he also had the equipment to get the most amazing shot possible.

“In August, I was in Canada salmon fishing near the Alaskan border and there were humpback whales breaching and feeding around our small boat," recalls Woodman. "One group of five whales began 'bubble net' feeding by diving deep and releasing a ring of air bubbles to startle and contain herring in a giant bubble net. The whales, mouths agape, would rise within the ring of bubbles and swallow the corralled herring as they surfaced."
Bubble net feeding is a unique phenomenon in the oceanic world, and it's a rare occurance to see. It is believed that this is a learned behavior amongst humpback whales–opposed to instinctual–as not all in the wild peform this technique. While humpback whales are carnivorous, they do not have teeth nor a very big throat, so bubble net feeding allows them to basically shotgun herring like a frat boy with a funnel.

Quickly realizing he should capture the moment, Woodman took action. "They did this several times, so I was able to quickly launch my GoPro Karma drone from the boat and capture the whales in action. Filming was tricky because they’d never bubble net in the same spot and I had to fly low enough to really capture the moment up close. It was a cosmic experience to witness these beautiful whales in their natural environment…and from directly above them!”

As you can see from his video, Woodman perfectly documented the moment, thanks to his GoPro and Karma drone. Perhaps he has a second career as an oceanic researcher...